Well I’m only a virtual track day virgin but imagine the fun I had when my throttle stuck at full throttle on the main straight at Donnington.After some time trying to free it at the track,it didn’t appear to be anything external and wasn’t the cable so it went to the dealer.After suggesting that the manifold may need changing at big � my local dealer found that the butterfly spindle was distorted and the bush warped.Has this happened to anyone else?Above 6500 revs there is quite a lot of spluttering is this normal? Could this be the cause of the problem? The dealer said it might be caused by bad back fires.Thanks for any help in advance.
What car is this? If it is an Elise S1 with the plastic throttle body then they are known for warping and sticking.Solution is to replace with an alloy version.
This is getting SERIOUS ALREADY!!! I made a post on this subject several months ago in April after I raced at Lime Rock here in the USA. I have seen several postings of this happening and someone at Lotus should open a recall or a campaign or whatever the hell they want to call it. I hope they don’t wait until someone gets hurt. Several people have mentioned it. It happened to me at the uphill at Lime Rock and I was lucky enough to pull into the chicane and turn my engine off before doing any damage. I had to remove the throttle body and my mechanic, Tony Bright(a talented Englishman by the way) set it straight. He can be reached at [email protected] if anyone wants to know what he did to correct it…BE CAREFUL !!!
My car is an Exige 190.I think we need to identify if there has been the same cause. I found another strand which identified the springs and collar see Known Problems/Sticky Throttle but according to the dealer this wasn’t the cause in my case. I will contact Tony Bright
David,It was the reference to a manifold that threw me as the Exige has throttle bodies !!The spindle has proper bearings fitted at either end and are very unlikly to warp, if the spindle has distorted then something has siezed and a lot of force has been used to free it up and hence twisted it. Have you ever noticed your throttle pedal getting harder to press?The above will explain the poor running at 6500, its nothing to do with back fires [image]http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/image]Who is the dealer?
![http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/image]Who](http://www.exiges.com/ubb/NonCGI/images/icons/rolleyes.gif%5B/image%5DWho){kind=link}
Thank you Phil.The Dealer is Storm Of Leicester.I haven’t noticed the throttle getting harder but will pay more attention in future.Is the spluttering at higher revs normal?Mark’s problem and insane-dj (known problems/sticky throttle seems to have been the same thing. I’m not sure if this could have caused my problem but will discuss with the dealer.Mark’s Mechanic Anthony emailed me as follows:‘Mark’s car had a problem with the return spring getting caught between the nylon bushing and the linkage. It was fixed with a machined washer being pressed onto the shaft so the spring cannot drop down between the bushing and the linkage.I also tack welded the spot that the spring rests against because as it rotates it moves down the contact surface…’
DavidH,The solution from Anthony is correct, after taking apart the throttle bodies and spindle myself, I came to the same conclusion.I haven’t fixed it yet, but has to be done before the next track day.I bought my Exige from Storm and allowed them to carry out one service - thats all I have to say about that.This is a design flaw, no question, and I agree with Mark, that Lotus should fix this as part of a recall. I’ve aware of one car that has been written off on joining the motorway due to this. Can’t give any more details as the owner is argueing with the dealer who ‘fixed it’ a couple of days earlier.DJ
just happened the same to a friend of mine here in Switzerland. He was lucky because it hapened in the tweesties…Will check mine asap.Why not chanche the TBs?
I had this problem intermittently at Bedford yesterday. After lifting from full throttle, but only in second and third gears, the revs would hold until I released the clutch and let the revs hit the limiter, after which everything would be fine again until full throttle was used in those gears. Engine sounds sweet (inasmuch as a VHPD can sound), throttle cable seems to be fine and the accelerator pedal doesn’t feel any different. The car was serviced very recently, so I guess if there were any issues with the throttle bodies, they would have been picked up. I have also been getting strange idle speeds lately - usually 2000 instead of 1250 rpm - could these issues be related? I would be interested to know if anyone else experienced the same problems recently.
Eugene
Eugene
Sounds like the wheel speed sensor - rear right hand side electical connector on the hub. Undo it, & give it a good clean, then spray the connections with WD40 before recoupling.
Thanks, Mr Pesky. Is that the sensor that feeds the ECU? Do you think it’s likely that it could cause the “stuck throttle” symptoms?
An update - Sinclaires have managed to trace the problem to the throttle pedal linkage mechanism. In short, a rivet in the bracket connecting the pedal to the throttle rod disintegrated and caused sticking and prevented the pedal from returning to original position. The rivet has now been replaced by a nut and bolt arrangement, which should hopefully prevent the problem from happening again.
Good news, Eugene - ta for the update
The pedal end of an S1 is [censored], there is no other word for it and I don’t like the updated versions various people have bought out either.
I have the complete S2 setup on my accelerator pedal connected with a standard S2 cable to standard S1 TB’s It all fits absolutly perfectly and works very very very well!!!
The S2 coated and spiral bound cable is a zillion times better than the standard S1 Bike brake cable
I got a bit of stick from internet engineers last time I posted about this, who thought there five minutes thinking about it gave them more knowledge than me who had actually done it, but to this day I think this is one of the best mods I have done to my car!!!
Sean…
Junks If you are out there have you a spare S2 Cable set up? going spare .??
Hi Everyone , just for the record.
I would advise everyone to check the torque on the tiny screws
that secure the throttle body butterfly’s to their spindles…
3 years ago my throttle jammed open at full throttle for no reason… Reason = One of tiny screws that ‘secure’ the throttle body butterfly/blade had come loose causing the throttle butterfly to go ‘offcentre’ and not close. In the process bending it’s spindle.
That would not have been so bad had the little screw stayed somewhere in the induction plenum… But it decided it was too cold and jumped into number 3 cylinder whilst it was open for a warm up…
I admire the screw for it’s bravery, however the poor engine was bouncing off the redline… there was a horrible bang as the screw got squished right on the edge of the piston, and forced itself against the cylinder liner, which then promptly cracked from top to bottom. My poor car then dumped all it’s coolant and said , ‘thanks, that will be a new engine please…’ or words to that effect… :'0(
So please please check those throttle butterfly screws and make sure they are loctited in OK.
Any more info required just let me know…
Have fun Dave :0)
ps I hope I am not bothering you guys with something you already know…
Plastic Pig #468
Good point, amusingly well made! 
Blimey that sounds like one helluva expensive screw you had there 
Having had throttle bodies stick open on more than one occasion I will def be checking 
By the way where did you find this thread?
[quote=SimonE]Blimey that sounds like one helluva expensive screw you had there
[/quote]
Arnt they all ??
[quote=SeanB]The pedal end of an S1 is [censored], there is no other word for it and I don’t like the updated versions various people have bought out either.
I have the complete S2 setup on my accelerator pedal connected with a standard S2 cable to standard S1 TB’s It all fits absolutly perfectly and works very very very well!!!
The S2 coated and spiral bound cable is a zillion times better than the standard S1 Bike brake cable
I got a bit of stick from internet engineers last time I posted about this, who thought there five minutes thinking about it gave them more knowledge than me who had actually done it, but to this day I think this is one of the best mods I have done to my car!!!
Sean… [/quote]
Sean is this a mod you would still recommend?